Table 1.
Clinical characteristics, insulin injection habits, and diabetes complications of enrolled subjects according to age class
| Patient characteristics, insulin injection habits and complications of diabetes | Enrolled subjects (n = 1227) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age ≤ 65 years | Age > 65 years | ||
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| Subjects, n (%) | 817 (67) | 410 (33) | 0.001 |
| Male gender, n (%) | 327 (40) | 97 (23) | 0.05 |
| Mean age (years) | 53 ± 13 | 73 ± 8 | 0.01 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 31 ± 5 | 27 ± 6 | 0.05 |
| HbA1c (%) | 8.1 ± 1.2 | 8.9 ± 1.4 | 0.05 |
| Since DM diagnosis (years) | 9 ± 7 | 12 ± 9 | 0.05 |
| Duration of insulin treatment (years) | 8 ± 4 | 12 ± 5 | 0.01 |
| Daily insulin dose requirement (IU/day) | 49 ± 15 | 43 ± 11 | 0.01 |
| Subjects with HEs, n (%) | 418 (51) | 268 (65) | 0.01 |
| Glycemic variability (mg/dl) | 281 ± 62 | 347 ± 69 | 0.001 |
| Lipohypertrophy, n (%) | 396 (48) | 322 (79) | 0.001 |
| Injection habits, n (%) | |||
| Needle reuse | 495 (61) | 267 (65) | n.s. |
| Failure to rotate injection sites | 397 (49) | 189 (46) | n.s. |
| Ice-cold insulin injection | 411 (51) | 201 (49) | n.s. |
| Suitable post-injection needle removal lag | 74 (9) | 25 (6) | n.s. |
| Post-injection leakage of insulin from the injection site (drop-leaking) | 319 (39) | 193 (47) | 0.05 |
| Painful injection | 131 (16) | 21 (5) | 0.01 |
| Injection into LH nodules | 383 (47) | 310 (56) | 0.05 |
| Diabetes complications, n (%) | |||
| Cardio-/cerebro-vascular disease | 180 (22) | 144 (35) | 0.01 |
| Lower limb complications | 65 (8) | 111 (27) | 0.01 |
| Retinopathy | 172 (21) | 207 (49) | 0.01 |
| Nephropathy/dialysis | 229 (28) | 213 (52) | 0.01 |
| Sensory-motor neuropathy | 139 (17) | 164 (40) | 0.01 |
| Autonomic neuropathy | 90 (11) | 131 (32) | 0.01 |
Data in table are presented as the mean ± standard deviation (SD) or as a number with the percentage in parentheses
DM Diabetes mellitus, HbA1c glycated hemoglobin, HE hypoglycemic episode, LH lipohypertropy, n.s. not significant